Bill Boyarsky is national political correspondent for the website, Truthdig (www.truthdig.com); a fellow of the Nation Institute; and author of the recently released book, Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics (University of California Press). He is currently on leave as a lecturer in journalism at the Annenberg School for Communications, University of Southern California, to cover the presidential campaign. In his 30 years with the Los Angeles Times, Boyarsky was a political writer, featured columnist, and city editor. He was a member of reporting teams that won three Pulitzer Prizes. He wrote two Ronald Reagan biographies: The Rise of Ronald Reagan and Ronald Reagan, his life and rise to the Presidency; Backroom Politics: How Your Local Politicians Work, Why Your Government Doesn’t, and What You Can Do About It (coauthored with his wife Nancy), and Los Angeles: City of Dreams.

George Skelton has covered government and politics for 47 years, the last 34 for the Los Angeles Times and most of it in Sacramento. He has covered seven governors and was White House correspondent during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. He also has been a political writer and editor in Los Angeles. Since 1993, Skelton has written a twice-weekly column on Sacramento government and politics, Capitol Journal. Prior to joining The Times, he was the Sacramento bureau manager for United Press International. Other jobs include political writer for the Sacramento Union, and sports writer for UPI in San Francisco.

Bill Stall won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing on state government in 2004. In his 30 years with the Los Angeles Times, Stall’s experience includes editorial writer, Sacramento bureau (since 1997), political writer (1990-97), editorial writer (1984-90), staff and political writer, Washington bureau (1979-81), assistant Metropolitan editor (1978-79), energy writer (1977-78) and staff writer, Metro section (1976-77). He was a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Southern California from 1984 to 1992. His other jobs include Washington bureau chief for The Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, press secretary and director of public affairs for the California Governor’s office in 1975 to 1976, and the Sacramento bureau chief and political writer for the Associated Press from 1966 to 1974.

Edmund D. Edelman is a distinguished public servant with a career in elected office that spans thirty years, including twenty years as a Los Angeles County Supervisor and ten years as a Los Angeles City Councilman. Prior to running for office he worked in Sacramento as Deputy Legislative Counsel for the California Legislature and in Washington D.C. as Counsel to the U.S. House Labor Subcommittee. A UCLA alumnus, he graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the Political Science Department in 1954. He obtained an LL.B. degree from UCLA Law School in 1958. While in the Political Science Department, he was a student of Jack Bollens. His fond remembrance of this mentor led him to work with the department to establish an annual lecture event honoring Professor Bollens, Professor Ries and Professor Emeritus Hoffenberg. He has worked tirelessly since that time to ensure the work and influence of these three professors is remembered by past, present and future UCLA students and residents of the Los Angeles community.

Bill Parent, Associate Dean for Advancement and director of the Policy Forum at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. He teaches the course “Leadership in the Public Sector” in the Department of Public Policy. Before coming to UCLA, he was executive director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard University. He has published articles in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, New Perspectives Quarterly, and writes the annual chapter on state political challenges in California Policy Options.